04 - End of the sun:

Temple of owls, In the shape of a giants hand with a hundred fingers rising from the sand, the entrance had no marks neither was it dorned engraved or etched, a place of poverty.
For what reason would the King of Trine with a hundred men large division come to this landmark other than for a reason worth more than riches; peace.
Ludicrous to surround such an important objective with a trivial amount of protection, but it was peacetime in general, perhaps even the Kings would let their guard down.

Rumors from the surrounding desert border had told of submerged white vines of unknown kind, easily confused with tree roots.. but moving around.
some had said the vines had teeth, and wielded blades like a warrior. The most recent reports had told of the roots conjuncting into a humanoid form, the vines would bleed from eachothers thorns in its process that it formed a shroud of pure blood.
The phenomenon had been seen by enough people to make the King himself check it out, and so Osega of Trine did.

"My lord, section one is ready to enter the temple for the first scout, you have the word" said a soldier with his hands deep in the desert sand trying to stay as low as possible before the King.

King Osega laughed and pulled the soldier up.. "You dont have to bow for me here, they say the vines are beneath us afterall, so i would prefer every man to stand as tall as they can"
"Very well,.." Osega called out whilst waving his hand toward a twenty men section of his division. These men were trained since childhood and only the strongest and most loyal had been selected, but every one of them felt it, even the King.. that something was terribly wrong.

"Stand still!" "Not another step" the highest officer of the twenty men division called out at the front of the Temple, King Osega standing at the back could not make out the problem and tried to walk towards the ruckus through his division.
"Still i said" "do not move ..You are in the pressence of a King!!" the highest officer shouted in continuation.

"a..king.." the apparent man said.. "what.. is.. a.. king.. before.. a.. ..god?".. "What..is.. a .. god.. before.. a larger.... .. ..god?"
"How.. small.. a king.... before ... a .. larger.. god.."

Slowly the twenty men division walked backward.. spooked by the words of the man whom now stepping into the moonlight from under the temple roof clearly wore a deep-red hooded shroud covering all but his hands wich were pale as a corpse.

"It is you" Osega called out from within his division while walking forward.. "You are the ancient god of the desert" "what is your name demon!"

The red shrouded figure turned to the King then from the sand rose two thorned white tentacles pulling the division aside like splitting a log with an axe.
In the middle now clearly remained the King; face to face, his men held back on both sides.

"Where do you come from demon" Osega coughed in disbelief.. "How did you gain such power"

The shrouded demon lifted its hood showing a faceless head made out of white vines and answerred;
"mei Atade.. ma" (means: my thorned mother)

Then but few could escape with their lives, the vines ruptured now by the hundreds from the soil cutting Osegas men to shreds.

Eventually, from the distance the few soldiers that had made it out of the crater housing the Temple grounds could still make out the King on his knees surrounded by his dead.
Surely.. he was soon to follow.
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